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i am leaving for israel & palestine this morning, back next saturday. i am excited! it’s a learning trip with my mom and one of our life-long dreams. last night at our house of refuge my new friend who helped us connect to this particular trip shared about her experience in palestine. as she was sharing, i was reminded how desperate we are for God’s help and hope to heal and restore so much brokenness in this world. and that kind of reconciliation isn’t going to …

“blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” matthew 5:9 i know i’ve been all over the place the last few weeks & i like to do that here, not feeling pressure to color in the lines but just go with what’s right in front of me. at the same time, i really do want to finish this beatitudes series! there are only 2 more to go. in this beatitude, the word for peacemaker, is eirēnopoios. what’s interesting is this is the …

“blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” – matthew 5:8 i am back, longing for the beach as always but glad to be home, too. we had an amazing time on our vacation, just the 7 of us. my back held up pretty well considering, but do i ever miss the days when i never even had to think about it. my body just worked. sometimes, now, it feels like a full time job. on my trip i read 4 books, 2 …

* this is the 5th in a series of posts centered around the beatitudes. the other ones so far are: blessed are the spiritually poor, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, and blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. * * * * * “blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy…” – matthew 5:7 i sometimes tell people “grace is my love language.” and it’s really true. that’s not on the 5 love languages list, but there’s no …

* this is fourth in a series focused on the beatitudes in matthew 5. the first three are: blessed are the spiritually poor, blessed are those who mourn & blessed are the meek. * * * * * a few days ago i walked a labyrinth with a friend. no matter how long or short, whenever i carve out quiet time & get some silence & space to connect with God, i am always refreshed somehow. nothing super exciting happened in the moment but i did …

“blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” – matthew 5:5 for years, the word “meek” haunted me because of its use in terms of what good christian women should be–meek and mild. these were not exactly words that people would use to describe me. in the early years of growing my faith i remember feeling bad for not being quiet and subdued like so many christian women i met along the way. when i would hear them talking about life & relationships & …

“blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” – matthew 5:4 if you’re new here, this is 2nd in a series of posts centered around the beatitudes. the first one is blessed are the spiritually poor. this second beatitude–blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted–changed my life. literally. it might sound kind of corny but the truth is that years ago i entered into a very intentional time of healing from a lot of shame & pain in my past. during …

in the spirit of upside-downness & inside outness & the beatitudes & how much i love them, i thought i’d share the closing liturgy that my friend christa & i wrote together for our current sunday evening conversations focused on the sermon on the mount. may Jesus’ words sink deeply into our hearts, our hands, our feet, our minds: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. God, we need you. we’re at the end of our rope. we can’t do …